Analysis of Inelastic Suspension Structures

An analytical technique is presented for determining the response of unstiffened inelastic suspension structures subjected to a change in loading, temperature change, or support settlement. The basis of the method is the principle of minimum total potential energy coupled with function minimization techniques. Two minimization techniques are used: the variable metric method, and the conjugate gradient method. The effect of scaling the potential energy surface to speed convergence is examined. Using a computer program, numerical studies of various types of elastic and inelastic suspension structures were conducted to demonstrate the value of the method. Several systems were analyzed incrementally until a load level was reached which produced an ultimate stress level, or zero stress, in at least one cable segment. These load studies demonstrated the effectiveness and efficiency of the methods for problems with both geometric and material nonlinearities.